Some of you might have seen that device in the picture a long, long time ago. Maybe your parents were using it, maybe you even already had one. I’m talking about the Palm, which was one of THE devices in the early 2000’s, a personal digital assitant (PDA). However, with the rise of smartphones, in the meantime the Palm has been discontinued by HP.
But in the last few days, you might have heard the word “Palm” come up again. The “Palm Pre” is a device designed by a start-up from San Francisco which purchased the rights to the brand, so it has nothing to do with the initial team of developers, trying to make your life easier with the Palm PDA. The Palm Pre, however, is not a phone. It is a phone for your phone. What do I mean with that? It is intended to complement your current smartphone like a wearable would complement it. It is promoted as “a fully connected product that is in sync with your existing smartphone, so all of your connectivity can go where your smartphone can’t”. With the size of a credit card, it comes fully equipped with Android 8.1 and even face-recognition, but no other fancy features such as fingerprint-sensors, wireless charging or even a headphone jack. The Palm Pre is connected to your existing phone plan (which is currently only available from Verizon in the US), and not realy a stand-alone device.
Overall, it is simply a minimalist phone, intending to help you take a break from your phone.
So what do you think about complementing your current phone with a minimalist phone, to help you step away from your phone? To me, it sounds like a stretch to reduce your smartphone usage by buying another (smart)phone.
sources:
https://www.theverge.com/2014/1/23/5339164/qualcomm-buys-hps-palm-patents
https://www.theverge.com/2018/10/15/17974850/new-palm-smartphone-android-lifemode-time-well-spent-verizon
https://arstechnica.com/gadgets/2018/10/palm-rises-from-the-dead-as-a-zombie-brand-launches-tiny-smartphone/
https://www.bbc.com/news/technology-45876934
https://www.techradar.com/news/palm-is-back-with-a-phone-for-your-phone
